Positive parenting through yoga

Being a busy mother of two children I have come to realize that my beloved yoga practice has not only helped me regain some strength and vitality after the birth of my two kids, also it has allowed me to achieve a sense of surrender to the whole parenting experience that may not have come so quickly was I not to have my yoga practice.

Upon the arrival of my first born I was struck by the new experiences which were amazing and so new and wonderful but also by the seemingly lack of time for myself. I was enchanted by the love I felt for my daughter but rather surprised and overwhelmed that I felt I did not have much time to think or even breathe it felt sometimes.

These were my own feelings and not actually the case. We can always take a few precious minutes to breathe and awaken our minds and hearts but new motherhood made it seem very testing for me.

I found I was rushing through a shower, washing very quickly, just to jump out and dry myself next to my little girl. Not very relaxing and certainly I was transferring my jumpy and jittery vibe over to the baby. How to relax myself into this new routine I wondered.

Back to the yoga was the answer. Just setting aside a few minutes every day to breathe and make myself do it was what I needed. Finding that time at the start of my daughter’s life was not so easy for me. I was not surrendering to the idea of allowing myself some time. I thought I had to give everything I had to the little girl but how could I if that left nothing for me.

So I began the slow and often laborious process of awakening my body and taking it back to the mat. Ooh how my muscles ached and moaned over those first few weeks. But what a gift it also was. Yoga is like liquid gold to my body. It fills it with spirit and spirit was what I was lacking. I found myself so tired that I could not deal with the little things and they were beginning to weigh me down unnecessarily.

It was ok if the washing was not all done and folded by this afternoon if mama was feeling good and able to make it through the day and into the evening without feeling like she might splinter and fall apart. It was even great that the bed was not made if mama could sit beside it and focus on her breath whilst the little angel slept.

My surrender to the very life changing process of parenthood was assisted and awakened by my yoga practice. The thoughts and expectations I had of mothering were thrown out the window with the arrival of my darling daughter. It was a far different experience than I thought it would be and yoga helped me to accept that.

I remember one day thinking “soon it will be back to how it was and I will have more time for myself”. How wrong could I be???? It was only through the process of finding time to fit in the yoga that I could release these feelings and the truth could shine before me.

It was never going to go back to that time again, of all the free time I could imagine to fill my days. I was a mother now and that reigned supreme. There would be no going back to how it was. It was forward motion for me and my child. We were going ahead together and that was that. Realising this fundamental truth set me free, they always say truth will do that.

Motherhood is a full time job and one I am proud to do and do well. It is not always easy for me and I do struggle with it on occasion. Yoga has taught me to allow myself this struggle and let it go. Motherhood is an uplifting and empowering experience but you must let it be the wave at the start. We only ride a wave as it presents itself. Open up, see the wave and ride freely, it is simple and sweet and will save a lot of time for you and the children.

My daughter is now 6 and we are both thriving, being present in her life and my own I constantly work on and we are all getting there. It is the most exciting adventure I have ever had.